Lawmakers will head back to the Hill for their first veto override session in nearly a decade.
Leaders in the House and Senate say they have enough support to bring lawmakers back to the capitol for a session to attempt to override two of Gov. Herbert’s vetoes:
HB198, which passed by a 62-0 margin in the house and 23-0 in the Senate. That bill would require the Attorney General to provide a legal opinion for the legislature if asked.
You’ll remember that lawmakers got into a protracted standoff with Gov. Gary Herbert over a requested legal opinion on last years special congressional election. Lawmakers wanted Herbert to call a special session to let them set the rules for the election, but Herbert refused. Legislative leaders asked Attorney General Sean Reyes to provide legal guidance on whether Herbert’s move was proper, but Herbert blocked him from doing so citing attorney/client privilege.
The other bill that lawmakers may attempt to override is SB171, which provides for the legislature to hire their own attorneys to intervene in lawsuits over actions they’ve taken as a legislature.
The call for the veto override session will be issued by Senate President Wayne Niederhauser and House Speaker Greg Hughes. Lawmakers must convene the veto override session by May 7.
Lawmakers also passed a proposed constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to call itself into special session under certain circumstances. Currently, only the governor may call a special session.
(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article said it was the first override session in 15 years. That was in error as the Utah Legislature held a veto override session in 2011. We regret the error.)
